The Black-White Achievement Gap in the First College Year: Evidence From a New Longitudinal Case Study

Spenner, Kenneth I.; Buchmann, Claudia; Landerman, Lawrence R.

doi:10.1016/s0276-5624(04)22007-8

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Of those that completed the pre-college survey, 77% also responded to the first year survey, 75% to the second year survey and 67% to the fourth year survey 2 The Appendix provides comparisons of possible non-response and drop-out/attrition bias, and we conclude that the effects are quite small (cf. Spenner et al 2005). All models and estimates use probability weights to reflect the sampling of racial ethnic groups.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The few studies that have examined legacies' academic achievement suggest a degree of underperformance early in college (Massey and Mooney 2007;Spenner et al 2005) but little underperformance by the end of college (Bowen et al 2005, p. 171). In explaining this early underperformance, we explore the forms of capital with which students enter college.…”

Section: Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Capital Conversion and Accumulation: A Social Portrait of Legacies at an Elite University

Martin

Spenner

2009

Res High Educ

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Legacies, or students with a family member who graduated from the same college or university, have been the source of much debate. We add to the existing literature by providing a detailed empirical portrait of legacies at a private, selective university across the college years. We examine how legacies are distinctive in their admissions profiles, within-college achievement and post-graduation plans, using data from a panel study of students attending Duke University. We find that legacies enter college with an abundance of economic, cultural and social capital, but also have lower levels of human capital compared to other students with college graduate parents. Due to this human capital deficit, legacies have lower grades in the first college year, but show little academic underperformance in subsequent semesters. Additionally, legacies are less likely to plan to be a medical doctor or engineer and have somewhat lower degree aspirations than other students.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Capital Conversion and Accumulation: A Social Portrait of Legacies at an Elite University

Martin

Spenner

2009

Res High Educ

Self Cite

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“…Thus, beyond parental education, knowledge about navigating college (one form of cultural capital) could make college completion more likely. Supporting this argument, there is evidence that cultural capital improves college achievement and persistence (Wells, 2008;Spenner, Buchmann, & Landerman, 2005). For example, first generation students have more difficulty performing the "college student role" and more often miss the implicit expectations of professors (Collier & Morgan, 2008), hindering academic performance.…”

Section: Cultural and Social Capitalmentioning

confidence: 78%

The Effect of Wealth Inequality on Higher Education Outcomes: A Critical Review

Rauscher¹,

Elliott²

2014

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American society reflects considerable class immobility, much of which may be explained by the wide gaps in college completion rates between economically advantaged and disadvantaged groups of students. First, we discuss the factors that lead to unequal college completion rates and introduce assets as an explanation often ignored by stratification scholars. We then discuss how a legacy of wealth inequality has led to wealthy students having an advantage at the financial aid bargaining table over low-income and minority students. We conclude by discussing how assetbuilding policies such as children's savings accounts offer a potential policy strategy to alter the distributional consequences of the current financial aid system and help level the playing field.

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“…Spenner et al (2005) found an achievement gap developed between Black and White students during the first semester of college. Forty percent of the achievement gap (first-semester grade point average [GPA]) between Black and White students was the result of high school academic preparation and socioeconomic background, while 60% of the achievement gap was unexplained (Spenner et al, 2005). D' Augelli and Hershberger (1993) determined that differences in the transition experiences of Black and White students were more the result of personal background variables than academic preparation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 95%

From High School to College: The Transition Experiences of Black and White Students

Zhang

Smith

2011

Journal of Black Studies

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Based on a quantitative study of students at a midsize public university in the Southeast and informed by Astin's input-environment-outcome model, this article explores how the transition experiences of Black students differed from those of White students. Black students relied more on guidance counselors in high school and orientation programs in college. Although the academic ethic was strongly related to grade point average (GPA) and a substantially larger proportion of Black females had a strong academic ethic, their GPAs were not different from those of Black males and were significantly lower than those of both White females and White males. The analysis found an inflated perception of the amount of help parents provided in the transition.

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The Black-White Achievement Gap in the First College Year: Evidence From a New Longitudinal Case Study

Cited by 22 publications

References 28 publications

Capital Conversion and Accumulation: A Social Portrait of Legacies at an Elite University

Capital Conversion and Accumulation: A Social Portrait of Legacies at an Elite University

The Effect of Wealth Inequality on Higher Education Outcomes: A Critical Review

From High School to College: The Transition Experiences of Black and White Students

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